Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I did not have this on my fuck 2022 bingo card.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

This really is a full service blog.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

Not all heroes wear capes.

Bark louder, little dog.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

This fight is for everything.

You can’t love your country only when you win.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

No one could have predicted…

Today’s GOP: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

You are here: Home / Politics / Trumpery / Dolt 45 / GOP Miscreants Open Thread: I’m Not Alone…

GOP Miscreants Open Thread: I’m Not Alone…

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What a fitting metaphor! Perhaps some of you will also take pleasure in the hope that Roger Stone’s time in the barrel has come?

… The subpoena was recently served on John Kakanis, 30, who has worked as a driver, accountant and operative for Stone.

Kakanis has been briefly questioned by the FBI on the topics of possible Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, the WikiLeaks website, its founder Julian Assange, and the hacker or hackers who call themselves Guccifer 2.0, one of the people with knowledge of the matter said.

Mueller has not scheduled a grand jury appearance for Kakanis, the person said…

In an emailed statement to Reuters on Friday, Stone said he believed that Mueller’s scrutiny on him stemmed from “misapprehensions and misconceptions” created by the media, and that he would ultimately be exonerated of any alleged wrongdoing.

“I sincerely hope when this occurs that the grotesque, defamatory media campaign which I have endured for years now will finally come to its long-overdue end,” wrote Stone, one of Trump’s closest political advisers in the years before he ran for president.

During the 2016 Republican primaries, a Stone political action committee paid more than $130,000 to an entity called “Citroen Associates” for “voter fraud research and documentation” and “research services consulting,” according to Federal Election Commission filings.

Florida state records identify the owner of Citroen Associates as John P. Kakanis.

The subpoena handed to Kakanis is the latest development suggesting that Stone, an early Trump backer whose reputation as an aggressive political operative dates back to the Watergate scandal of the 1970s, is being looked at by Mueller.

Reuters reported earlier this week that FBI agents working for Mueller delivered two subpoenas to Jason Sullivan, a social media and Twitter expert who worked for Stone during the 2016 campaign, and that agents told him Mueller’s team wanted to question him about Stone and WikiLeaks…

Other Trump associates who have been questioned by Mueller, including former campaign advisors Sam Nunberg and Michael Caputo, have also been asked about Stone and WikiLeaks.

“They asked me about Roger’s businesses – who he worked with prior to the 2016 election. They asked me about Roger’s tax returns,” Nunberg said in a phone interview earlier this week, adding that he believed Mueller was stepping outside his mandate in casting such a wide net around Stone’s activities.

The irony is, the better Stone disciples Kakanis and Sullivan are, the more swiftly they’ll turn on their mentor (and their fellows). If Roger and his Nixon tattoo end up in a cell because some low-ranking minion trades their freedom for his, the poetic justice alone might cause him to stroke out. And if — this is just daydreaming, on my part — if exposing Stone’s rotten Trump dealings should happen to officially unmask some of the other beneficiaries of a 40-year history of GOP ratfvckery, he might not be the only one…

Reader Interactions

78Comments

  1. 1.

    Petorado

    Has $130,000 become the new 27%? The crazification factor number has morphed into the corruption number, or better yet, the corrupt AF number.

  2. 2.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    Good Morning everyone from Jolly Old England on this glorious Royal Wedding Day. I shall be parked on the couch all morning drinking tea and watching the festivities. The weather is wonderful, the crowds are building and every one is happy and excited. I will follow the news from over there of course but I am not going to let anything get me down today. If there is one thing we know how to do over here it is put on a Royal occasion. I am so happy to be here today. I think I might wear a hat :)

  3. 3.

    JAFD

    Read of this piece of historical research. Mayhaps you’ll find it interesting.

    “About one-fifth of western European cities saw a total eclipse of the sun during medieval times. Those triggered cities were thereafter more likely to build public mechanical clocks early. And building a clock early boosts your population by a quarter across the centuries. This is either freakish statistical mischance, or a truly great thing:”

    http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/64495/1/WP222.pdf
    (the whole journal article)
    http://research.cbs.dk/en/publications/uuid(dd4cd883-073b-463e-8797-15c6b531915f).html
    (the academic summary page)
    http://www.bradford-delong.com/2018/05/lars-boerner-and-battista-severgnini-time-for-growth-researchcbshttpresearchcbsdkenpublicationsuuiddd4cd8.html#more
    (a blog post where I heard about it, and got the quote)

    (IMHO the blog of Brad DeLong – prof of economic history at Berkeley – regularly has some of the most interesting readig on the ‘net)

  4. 4.

    Villago Delenda Est

    Stone’s long history of dirty political tricks in the name of rabid reaction would have a fitting denouement if he were tossed in the slammer to die there.

  5. 5.

    Mary G

    There’s a documentary on Netflix called “Get Me Roger Stone” that pays out all his crimes and misdemeanors over the years. He and Manafort have been thick as thieves for ever, starting with creating the Young Republicans in college.

  6. 6.

    smike

    @Mary G: “…starting with creating the Young Republicans in college.”

    That’s worth a prison sentence all by itself. Is it wrong that the FSM is smiling?

  8. 8.

    m.j.

    40-year history of GOP ratfvckery

    I think the Koch’s and others have plans for weathering this storm.
    I’m sorry, but I don’t see a positive future.

  9. 9.

    NotMax

    “Consultant.”

    A word which means whatever the source offering it deems it to mean; meaningless term. Also see: Power Point operator.

    (archaic) One who provides informed advisement or guidance by request.

  10. 10.

    bystander

    I really enjoyed Maddow’s discussion of the parallels between Nixon’s enemies list and twitler going after Amazon.

    BTW, when are Amazon shareholders going to act? The POTUS is using his power to harm a major, publicly held American corporation.

  11. 11.

    NotMax

    @bystander

    What Dolt 45 doesn’t understand or know about the Post Office would overfill several Grand Canyons.

    Of course, that could also be said about any topic he chooses to opine open.

  12. 12.

    bystander

    Also wanted to note, mutual funds, private hedge funds, pension plans, all have investments in Amazon and their managers have a duty to protect their shareholders.

  14. 14.

    NotMax

    @bystander

    At this point Bezos could purchase every Trump property there is and still make Forbes’ richest list.

    Like he has nothing better to do than to micromanage WaPo. It is to laugh.

  15. 15.

    Planetpundit

    Sadly medieval punishments are no longer statute; otherwise we could gather on the village green and stone Stone.

  16. 16.

    hervevillechaizelounge

    Every time Stone is mentioned I recall the text of the cuckhold ad he posted. (Anyone interested in taking a gander can plug [email protected]—his confirmed email address—and “Florida – the Dark Cavern” into the google box. Seriously—it has to be seen to be believed; the verbiage is far filthier than I ever imagined.)

    Admittedly I’m a prude, but I just can’t get my mind around it. He posted an ad seeking gentlemen of color to have intercourse with his wife; he still has a high-profile career, and the media still pretends the republicans are the moral majority.

    If Stone was a democrat he would’ve been drummed from politics; Foxnews would scream like an air raid siren about his transgressions all the livelong day. But RWNJs, for whom “cuck” is the go-to insult, flock around him.

    And did I mention the text of the ad? It’s dirty. And misogynistic. And unbelievably, his wife stayed married to him! If my husband called my anatomy “floppy” I’d be a widow.

    Truly the world has gone mad.

  18. 18.

    raven

    Yesterday was the work retirement luncheon for my bride. It was truly inspirational to see all the folks who came from around Georgia to celebrate and testify to the difference she has made to breastfeeding and the WIC program. She framed her “remarks” around “Stop Making Sense” by weaving in many of the important people in her life. I cried and she didn’t!

  21. 21.

    satby

    I’ll catch whatever highlights of the wedding there are, I’m just finishing my second cup of coffee as I fortify for the market today.

  25. 25.

    Quinerly

    @rikyrah: I am. Woke up about an hour ago. Joy Reid is a hoot. I think Katy Tur might be drunk. That’s some dress Serena is wearing?

  29. 29.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    Wow – EVERY network is covering the wedding.

    Joy Reid is anchoring MSNBC’s coverage and she’s just fab.

    Somehow George Clooney looks even more handsome with gray hair.

  34. 34.

    Amir Khalid

    The cops raided Najib’s house in KL and seized a larger collection of Hermes Birkin bags than Birkin herself ever owned, and a shitload (five police trucks full) of suitcases containing cash and jewellery. Here’s a picture of a cop lifting one of the suitcases. The cops say they haven’t finished counting the cash or valuing the jewellery, so that number is not out yet.

  37. 37.

    Quinerly

    @rikyrah: who was the gorgeous woman in orange? Loved that dress. Oprah’s dress and shoes are beautiful. Up on Instagram.

  47. 47.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Amir Khalid: You guys are on the metric system, so actually I thing that constitutes a metric buttload of goods.

    He should have contacted us, we have a guy on Pennsylvania Avenue in DC who has decades of experience laundering hot cash and jewelry into real estate.

  56. 56.

    Quinerly

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: I fell asleep with the TV on. Stephanie and Katy’s laughing woke me up at 4:00.They were quite rowdy. (I think someone has told them to tone it down) Stephanie had a blue fascinator on. Katy T. seemed a bit drunk?They were giggling like school girls.

  63. 63.

    Barry

    @hervevillechaizelounge: “If Stone was a democrat he would’ve been drummed from politics; Foxnews would scream like an air raid siren about his transgressions all the livelong day. But RWNJs, for whom “cuck” is the go-to insult, flock around him.”

    I really can’t think of a single insult from the right which is not a ten-fold confession.

  65. 65.

    Matt McIrvin

    I’m starting to wonder why Trump doesn’t just shut all this down–fire Mueller, pardon everybody and announce that he is the State and he determines what’s a crime and what isn’t. I’m convinced he’d get away with it. The people are idiots and don’t really care about any of this. The media would treat it as a partisan kerfuffle, both sides, Hillary whatever. Republicans have all convinced themselves that it’s a witch hunt and there are no crimes.

    I’m not convinced the answer is state charges, because I just don’t see a lot happening on that front. People have known Trump was mobbed-up for ages and New York never got him before. The two big investigations are both federal. Trump could shut them down. So why hasn’t he? He could tomorrow, but why has he let it go on this long? Is it just that he’s chicken and he figures he’s not in immediate danger–as long as it’s other people going down, no worries?

  66. 66.

    Ken

    John Kakanis, 30, who has worked as a driver, accountant and operative for Stone

    Am I the only one who reads that combination of jobs and thinks “mobster”?

  67. 67.

    Nicole

    @Matt McIrvin:

    I’m not convinced the answer is state charges, because I just don’t see a lot happening on that front. People have known Trump was mobbed-up for ages and New York never got him before. The two big investigations are both federal. Trump could shut them down. So why hasn’t he? He could tomorrow, but why has he let it go on this long? Is it just that he’s chicken and he figures he’s not in immediate danger–as long as it’s other people going down, no worries?

    Thanks to recent reports, I am unsure how much of that is due to there being nothing the state can do and how much is due to the Trump Cartel having had both Vance and Schneiderman in its not-all-that-deep-pocket. I know there were some complaints about the interim Att’y General being kind of boring, but I’m starting to believe that boring is more effective. I remember getting taken in by Anthony Weiner’s great talk talk talk on the teevee, and then, when it came out that he was a creep, also learning his colleagues hated him because he didn’t do any work; he just liked having his face on the teevee.

  68. 68.

    Tokyokie

    @Amir Khalid: It sounds a lot like when the Japanese cops raided LDP kingmaker Shin Kanemaru’s home a quarter-century ago and found hundreds of pounds of gold bars under his bed. (And yes, I always found it ironic that the literal translation of his family name is “money circle.”)

  69. 69.

    Ramalama

    @Ken: I found it a strange amalgam of jobs for sure. Especially a driver and accountant. Since when did accountants have to multi-task like that?

  70. 70.

    germy

    So Stone has been permanently banned from twitter. Does he still communicate on facebook? Instagram?

    He’s still a regular guest on the talk shows, which I find amazing.

  71. 71.

    Another Scott

    @Amir Khalid: Good, good. Glad they caught the loot before he got away.

    Wonder if that heavy suitcase is filled with gold doubloons or something…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  72. 72.

    Another Scott

    @Matt McIrvin: Obstruction of Justice is a pretty big deal. He’s not going to overtly cross that line until he feels he can get away with it or feels that he has no other choice.

    The system of checks and balances isn’t totally destroyed just yet.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  76. 76.

    oaguabonita

    @Ken: @Ken:

    Am I the only one who reads that combination of jobs and thinks “mobster”?

    Maybe. When I read it, I think “mobster’s thug”.

  77. 77.

    oaguabonita

    @WaterGirl:

    I think Trump overtly crossed the “obstruction of justice” line long, long ago.

    Yes, certainly when he fired Comey, if not before.

  78. 78.

    Another Scott

    @WaterGirl: One could make that argument, certainly. But, on the other hand, lots of us thought Comey should have been fired long ago – long before May 9, 2017. Comey clearly broke FBI and DOJ policy and stuck his nose into politics in a way that was a firing offense (as Rosenstein’s memo said). Of course, Trump fired him for different reasons…

    Firing Rosenstein and/or Mueller (or reassigning them so that they can’t do their jobs) is much, much more obviously obstruction. They have done absolutely nothing wrong. And Congress has made it abundantly clear that firing Mueller is a bridge too far.

    My $0.02.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

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